Category Widget

Listings (category) pages, Home/Location pages, and search pages all display different listings.
See https://wpgeodirectory.com/docs/layout/#directory

A search entered on any page, will search for the parameters added in that search, it does not remember what pages you were before. But you can add a category selector to the search bar: https://wpgeodirectory.com/docs/gd-search/#cat

Thanks

Are the ‘breakouts’ you mentioned currently setup as ‘parent’ categories?

We have had a few requests to create a ‘dependant dropdown’ or ‘drill down’ for parent and subcategories for the search bar.

You are saying that still would not meet your needs?

“Jump menus” are out of style these days. (ref)

The best I have seen lately is something like a menu item that opens a large panel from the header and lists every category or location as a menu link.

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Hello,

the header menu is not a feature of GD or GD themes, so, there are probably several ways to implement it. Maybe a 3rd party plugin, or a customization for allowing a widget in the menu, the widget having a lot of custom html inside.

I am not sure what you mean about the drop down. The headers I have seen are basically jump lists, but without a drop down and automatic redirect; really just a list of links to categories/locations, whatever will help the visitor find what they are looking for.

With multiple CPTs, the most common case is documented here: https://wpgeodirectory.com/docs/linking-custom-post-types/

For example:

Eat (CPT)
– CPT Special Feature for Paid Listings – Open Sunday Morning (category – 10)
– Restaurant (category – 1)
– Cafe (category – 2)

Sleep
– CPT Special Feature for Paid Listings – Open Sunday Morning (category – 20)
– Hotel (category – 3)
– BnB (category – 4)

So, given this setup, then, the site manager would go and make a new WP Page, and add 4 shortcodes like the example below:

Page Title : “Open Sundays!”

<h4>Restaurants Open on Sunday!</h4>
[gd_listings post_type="gd_eat" layout=4 category="1, 10" list_sort="high_review" add_location_filter=false]
<h4>BnBs Open on Sunday!</h4>
[gd_listings post_type="gd_sleep" layout=4 category="4, 20" list_sort="high_review" add_location_filter=false]

etc etc

Categories are designed specifically for grouping listings together.

CPTs are useful if you have significant differences between form data or presentation needs between 2 types of listings. CPTs often bring with them quite a significant amount of management and complexity when it comes to getting a site setup.

It is always possible to split out a group of listings later. For example, with a goal of adding 5000 restaurants, then once the goal is hit, export the listings, and import only the restaurants into a new CPT gd_eat.

CPTs can be a crucial add-value but there is a trade-off with complexity.